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CAR

G5 Communiqué on the Ongoing Developments in the National Assembly of the Central African Republic

Bangui, October 24th, 2018. The members of the G5, a group of Member States and partner institutions of the Central African Republic, are closely following the ongoing discussions in the CAR National Assembly regarding the impeachment of its President. The G5 is aware of the risk that the instrumentalization of these events poses for the stability of the country and its institutions, and thus undertook wide consultations with the highest State authorities and Central African political actors to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation. The G5 commends the prudence demonstrated by the interlocutors with which they met. During these exchanges, the G5 took note of the diversity of the analyses and of the points of view expressed. Furthermore, the Group took note of the positions expressed by a number of Central African civil society actors, including in particular the statements of the Women Leaders for Peace (Femmes leaders pour la paix), and the Platform of Religious Denominations of Central Africa (Plateforme des Confessions religieuses centrafricaines), both published on October 16th.

The G5 welcomes these peaceful expressions of contradictory positions, both within and outside the National Assembly, as a testament to the vitality of the democratic debate in the Central African Republic. The G5 is confident that the Members of Parliament, in their stated efforts to ensure a better institutional functioning of the National Assembly, will endeavour to strengthen governance and will prioritize the need to restore confidence in this key institution of the Central African Republic. The Group further hopes that the ongoing discussions and deliberations within the National Assembly will help consolidate Central African democracy and reaffirm the sanctity of law as the cardinal principle of the strength and credibility of state institutions. The G5 therefore expresses hope that, throughout this democratic process, Members of Parliament will be able to transcend individual interests and exercise their customary sense of responsibility so that wisdom and the collective interest may triumph, and that the stability of the country and spirit of co-existence will prevail in this important moment in the political history of the Central African Republic.